Benefit for Treva Besel at the Legion

If you are unable to attend Treva's benefit, but would like to send a donation, mail it to:Susie Carlson925 9th St. S.St. James, MN 56081

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St. James Plaindealer - St. James, MN

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Posted Feb. 7, 2013 at 11:00 AM
Updated Feb 7, 2013 at 11:41 AM

Posted Feb. 7, 2013 at 11:00 AM
Updated Feb 7, 2013 at 11:41 AM

St. James Plaindealer

A benefit for Treva Besel, the daughter of Ken and Wendy Besel, will be held on Feb. 10 from 10:30 am. to 1:30 pm at the America Legion in St. James.

Treva has been diagnosed with Idiopathic Subglottic Stenosis, which is a narrowing of the upper airway caused by inflammation and scar tissue, due to an unknown cause.

On May 14th, Treva had surgery to laser more than half of her inflamed, swollen vocal chords away. Each month Treva takes costly medication and her visits to Rochester are ongoing. The benefit is a baked potato bar, with cake and ice cream.

If you are unable to attend Treva's benefit, but would like to send a donation, mail it to:

Susie Carlson

925 9th St. S.

St. James, MN 56081

Treva’s medical journey began the fall of 2007 when she was a junior at St. James High School. She experienced breathing difficulties while participating in physical activity. After being referred to several specialists throughout the next four years, a diagnosis could not be reached.

In November 2011, Treva awoke in the middle of the night unable to breath. She was rushed to Immanuel St. Joseph’s Hospital in Mankato. An epi-pen treatment was used so she could regain her breath. It was finally after this episode that she received a referral to specialists in Rochester, and testing began in January 2012.

After months of testing, doctors discovered her vocal chords were swollen so badly that she had only a straw size hole to breathe through. The vocal chords appeared to be frozen and barely functioning. They called this condition Idiopathic Subglottic Stenosis.

Mayo advised surgery as the only option to restore her breathing. At this point, walking to classes on campus at MSU and climbing a flight of stairs was becoming almost impossible. They told Treva that a tracheotomy would likely be done. There was no guarantee she would have a voice after surgery. Both of these would not be known until she awoke from surgery. On May 14th they operated on Treva’s vocal chords using a laser to remove over half of her chords. No trach was needed and she had a normal voice again. Things were looking up!

In October 2012, she had a viral infection that started in her eyes. It then progressed to her mouth, throat and down her esophagus warranting a three day stay in Rochester. Due to the medication she is on to keep her throat from swelling shut again, her immune system is being weakened.

With the weakened immune system she is vulnerable to viral and bacterial infections. Therefore, she is on a regiment of medications to fight these infections.

Page 2 of 2 - Treva is hoping some day doctors can figure out why all of this is happening to her medically. She continues to go to college at MSU and work in the retail business.

Treva says, “Staying busy is a good thing for me, it keeps my mind off of all the “what if’s”.

She expresses her gratitude to the St. James community for their support and prayers. “Without all those prayers, the last year would have been impossible to get through.”

The benefit is to help with ongoing medical visits to Rochester and costly monthly medications.